"William， why do you want to learn the piano？" the teacher asked."I want to play for my mother." She noticed the tears in his eyes as he answered her. She had no heart to turn him down and accepted William as her student. But at each music lesson， William appeared to be in a hurry and played badly. "My mother is waiting outside for me. " he would tell the teacher. She was tempted to advise William not to waste his time as he never hit the right note. But there was something about William， which she was fascinated with—the tender look of his eyes each time he mentioned "mother."
Suddenly， William stopped coming for his lessons. At the end of the semester year， the music teacher decided to organize a piano recital for her students and she sent flyers to them to participate. She was surprised to find William' s application that he would like to contribute a musical piece. The music teacher was taken aback. She again had no heart to turn him down. She would put him as the last player in case he stumbled with his notes， she would come forward to remedy the situation.
The day came and William appeared with his hair uncombed and his shirt creased. He sat quietly with his eyes closed. When it was his turn to play， William bowed before the audience and said he was thankful for the music teacher' s patience with him as he may not have been the best of her pupils.
"Tonight I am dedicating my music to my mother. " he said. As he sat down and put his fingers on the keyboard， the most beautiful sound of music was heard. Everyone later asked why William did not bring his mother as she would surely be proud to hear him play.
William replied， "My mother was stone deaf and she could never hear me play during her life time. Yet she sacrificed her time and money to let me learn the piano. This morning mother passed away. I am sure she is now happy as she can hear my piano recital. I chose a piece from Beethoven' s concerto. As you all know， Beethoven was submerged with deafness at the triumph of his career. The piece symbolized his struggle for freedom from tyranny and released him from darkness and so was mother." Everyone was electrified to hear what William said and tears welled over their eyes.
The music teacher proudly exclaimed， "William， not only your mother but we all are proud of you. We are deeply touched by your devotion and your love for mother. " as she embraced him.
外表看上去有些邋遢的10歲小男孩威廉， 報名要學習鋼琴，音樂老師不願意收他。因為老師希望她的學生年齡較小些，希望孩子們能在手指靈活的年齡開始學彈琴。
“威廉，你學習彈鋼琴是為了什麽呢？”老師問道。“我想為媽媽彈奏。”老師注意到他回答問題時眼中的淚水。她不忍心再拒絕，收下了他。但是，在每次的音樂課上，威廉都表現得很匆忙，琴彈得也很糟糕。他告訴老師：“我媽媽在外麵等著我。”他從沒有彈對過一個音符，所以老師試圖勸說威廉別再浪費時間了。但是，在威廉身上，有某種令她非常著迷的東西，那就是在每次提及“媽媽”時，他眼中流露出的溫情。
突然間，威廉不再來上課。學年末，音樂老師決定為學生們組織一次鋼琴獨奏會，並發給他們一些參加彈奏的曲目。看到威廉要求參加獨奏會的申請，老師感到很驚訝。她有些迷惑，可還是不忍心拒絕，便把他安排在最後一個出演。這樣一來，萬一他不能把曲子彈完，她還有希望上台補救。
鋼琴獨奏會那天到了，威廉衣冠不整地出現。他閉著雙眼，靜靜地坐在那裏。輪到他演奏的時候，他站在觀眾們麵前鞠了一躬，並感謝老師對他的耐心，因為他可能不是老師最優秀的學生。
威廉說：“今晚，我要將我的音樂獻給我媽媽。” 當他坐下來，手指按在鍵盤上時，最優美的音樂便在耳邊響起。隨後，每個人都詢問威廉，為什麽不帶媽媽一起來？聽到兒子所彈奏的美妙樂曲，她一定會很自豪的。
“我的媽媽耳朵是聾的，她這一生都聽不到我的演奏。然而，她卻花時間、花錢來讓我學習彈鋼琴。今天早上，媽媽去世了。我相信此刻她一定很開心，因為她可以聽到我的鋼琴獨奏了。我從貝多芬的D 奏曲中挑選了一首曲子。眾所周知，在貝多芬音樂事業的巔峰時期，他雙耳失聰。這首曲子是他與專製作鬥爭、爭取自由、從黑暗中自我解脫的象征，同樣是媽媽的象征。”威廉回答說。聽了威廉的話，每個人都深受感動，淚水溢滿了他們的雙眼。
音樂老師一邊擁抱著他，一邊驕傲地大聲說道：“威廉，不僅僅你媽媽，我們所有人都為你感到自豪。你的投入、你對媽媽的愛，深深地打動了我們。”
女兒上學了
Sending Kids Off to School
蘇珊·尤尼 / Susan Union
My girl is going to school.
However， I still could see how several weeks ago the scene was playing itself out as clearly as if it had been written in a movie script. "Five more minutes， honey， then we have to leave." I called to my five-year-old daughter， who had been frolicking in the Pacific Ocean for the past hour. She was a proficient pool swimmer， but the deep blue sea was a different matter.
Maybe she didn' t hear me calling her name above the roar of the ocean； maybe she did hear and was just ignoring me—it was impossible to tell.
"Hey， time' s up， we have to go now." She turned， gave me a "see ya， Mom" look and headed farther into the surf. I splashed out and grabbed her arm. My shorts were soaked.
"No！" she screamed， "I don' t want to leave！" She jerked her arm away from me and pushed her little body away.
Now she was in over her head. Overcome with fear and rage I grabbed her， firmly this time， and began to drag her out. She screamed and thrashed about like a wild animal caught in a trap， growling and scratching. The gritty sand clung to our wet skin.
By now I was shaking. I could hardly believe what happened next. I smacked her on the bottom hard. It stunned her enough to make her freeze and stop her hysterical ravings. She stood there almost completely covered in sand and with her mouth wide open， unable to take a breath.